for UXrs, by UXrs

How to Make a UX Designer Happy

User Experience designers are a pragmatic lot. We’re used to just getting on with it, designing with whatever is to hand and wherever we find ourselves. For example, the initial ideas for the Humanised Job Description were sketched on the back of an Easyjet boarding card at Stansted Airport. However, if you want to go the extra mile and make us really happy, there are a few things you can do.

Materials
We love sketching. Therefore, we need paper. Start with copious sheets of paper. Large and small, with and without gridlines. Make us purr by ordering a large roll of A0 paper, we’ll cut it up and cover the walls with it. Post-its, need I say more. A selection of sizes and colours is a no-brainer.

When it comes to pens and pencils, ‘Made in Japan’ is always a good sign. The kind that dry fast and don’t bleed through the page. Supply a choice of colours and tip weights. My personal favourite are the uni-ball series by Mitsubishi Pencil. Other things to have to hand include a straight edge, a ruler in layman’s terms and, as Wikipedia puts it, a reusable putty-like pressure-sensitive adhesive product (aka Blu-tack).

Hardware & Software
Large screens are a huge plus. Doesn’t need to be a top of the range 27” retina display Mac, just something large enough for use to see the expanse of our creations. It makes it easier for us to see the big picture and not waste time scrolling around. Talking about scrolling, Apple’s Magic Mouse is a huge force for design efficiency. It eliminates the time UXers spend trying to click on and manipulate scroll bars. Gracefully swiping across its smooth surface has the effect of scrolling in any desired direction.

As for software, non-trial software please. We like to be able to save our work, which is more than likely being used for commercial purposes. Must-haves are Photoshop and Illustrator. Other packages preferred by UXers are Axure, Silverback App, InDesign, Skype, Keynote, PowerPoint, Fireworks and Omnigraffle. Unless the UX designer is given admin rights to the computer, please make your IT department available to install preferred software should it be required. Be open to using other web or app based tools such as Trello and Evernote.

Environment
Being comfortable at work is essential in any profession, especially when sitting for hours at a computer monitor. The best work environments provide adjustable desk height and even accommodate work while standing. UXers are all about detail, sometimes obsessing over pixels. Therefore, light is important. This is especially the case in collaboration areas or anywhere work is being shared with a group of people. It’s also nice to have access to a desk / standing lamp should extra light be required by the individual.

Now let’s talk about wall space and white boards. For example, a map of a user journey can be extensive, complicated and need constant revision. It is important to be able to view it as a single artifact. Patterns are more easily seen and conclusions are more easily reached when this is the case. Dedicate wall space to allow designers create such views of their work.

“In larger corporates, I’ve seen ‘health and safety’ concerns forbid placing paper on walls and windows. Try and figure out how to get around this bureaucracy.”

Music in the office can sooth some but distract others. It’s best to see what people prefer and to strike a balance here. I once knew a UXer who wore ear plugs to escape the strange electronic music preferences of his colleagues. Individual earphones are an option but make it difficult to interrupt colleagues with design questions. Not to mention that prolonged use is bad for hearing.

General Practice
UX designers thrive upon variation. Feed them different stimuli to get their creative juices going. The more forward thinking organizations expose their designers to new experiences to aid inspiration and team building. I remember working on an interactive TV project when a trip to a Design & Art Exhibition generated a unique facet-inspired UI concept.
The opportunity to do some guerrilla research on a design idea is exciting, taking us away from wireframing or another desk based exercise. The possibility to learn and make contact with real users is imperative so try and facilitate it. Guerrilla research is cheap, fast and adds invaluable insights into the design process.

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